FG seeks sustainable power supply to public health institutions

The Federal Government has commenced measures to ensure stability and sustainability in the electricity supply to public health institutions across the country.

It expressed concern that the issue of poor electricity supply to public health institutions, coupled with the accompanying exorbitant bills, has become increasingly worrisome.

To address this, the government is proposing a National Dialogue on sustainable power supply in the health sector, to be hosted by the Office of the Minister of State for Health in either Abuja or Lagos.

The Federal Government also revealed that it has undertaken various initiatives, including a 50 per cent electricity subsidy for public hospitals and the provision of solar power mini-grids in selected hospitals.

Speaking in Abuja during the inauguration of the implementation committee for the National Dialogue on Power in the health sector on Friday, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, emphasised the urgent need to rethink traditional models of power generation and supply to hospitals.

Dr Salako stated that the current situation in the energy sector requires a collaborative, whole-of-government approach to resolve many challenging issues that extend beyond the purview of the health sector.

“In all the hospitals that I visited, I have instructed the Medical Directors to explore various public-private partnership models, develop business cases, and draw up strategic plans of engagement that will attract private sector investments to boost their capacities in the area of alternative and renewable energy solutions.

“I encourage all public healthcare facilities to think in this direction, and I believe this should be a priority agenda for the Committee of CMDs and MDs of Federal Tertiary Hospitals.

“These initiatives, however, have not been able to substantially address the challenges. Thus, there is an urgent need to rethink our traditional models of power generation and supply to hospitals.

“We can no longer afford business as usual in the face of mounting energy bills of our hospitals. The time has come for all hands to be on deck to relieve our hospitals of the burden of prohibitive costs of power supply, which gulps hundreds of millions of Naira monthly,” he said.

Dr Salako noted that it is time to adopt creative and innovative approaches to develop and implement smart energy solutions that will strengthen the health system and empower it to deliver on its core mandate of improving population health outcomes.

He explained that the key objectives of the dialogue include assessing the existing power policy environment against the urgency of the energy needs of tertiary health facilities and other public health institutions in Nigeria, drawing lessons from other low- and middle-income countries.

Among the terms of reference for the committee is the mobilisation of resources and attraction of investments for the sustainable electrification of public healthcare facilities, using a whole-of-government approach.

Additionally, the committee is tasked with learning from experiences of the current power situation and recommending best practices going forward.

Other terms of reference for the committee include identifying alternative and sustainable solutions by exploring renewable energy options, backup power systems, and energy-efficient solutions to enhance power reliability, and developing a collaborative action plan for monitoring the implementation of key agreements from the National Dialogue.

The committee will also agree on mechanisms to strengthen public-private partnerships for electricity supply to public health institutions in the country and build consensus on policy and regulatory frameworks, funding mechanisms, and sustainability strategies for efficient power supply to tertiary health facilities and other public health institutions in Nigeria.

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